Envelope loader



R. H. PENLEY ENVELOPE LOADER Feb. 17, 1953 Filed Deo. s, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet l Z QM lll Y gulll ||||||1 Feb. 17, 1953 R. H. PENLEY 2,528,465

ENvELoPE LOADER Filed Dec. 8, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

R. H. PENLEY EN-VELOPE LOADER Feb. 17, 1953 4 Sheets-Shea?l 3 Filed Dec. 8. 1949 R. H. PENLEY ENVELOPE LOADER Feb. l 7, 1953 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed D90. 8, 1949 INVENTOR.

Patented Feb. 17, 1953 entren sama-fs invention: re1ates-;.toi ani" envelopesloaden., fr.asp ackaging@v machneesuch, asfithat. disclosedf inimyfapplication. for;.patent,S..N. 652,132, vfiled March f5, 1946, andinow abandoned In, said-.,ap plieationhave` disclosed; a..machinefor. packageingf. powdered'` material. in. paper. packets.. present; invention is.v directed to.` an attachment Whichis,-especially, adapted to place the. paper, packets ofl powdered'material in envelpes, orv in reality, to place envelopesrraround said packets.

It Jisv therefore` anobject of' the present invention to provide amachinawhich, iscapable of selecting; empty, envelopes 4from a stack, openinj; said envelopes, .surroundngithe packets or other obj ectsf, by -saii envelopes, closing `said envelopes; and;y restackling, the envelopes containing the. packetsorobjects.V

It" is another object"oi"`tl'ie^present invention to, p ravide,an automatici machine of 'the' above specified .type whichis highly eicient.: consists of laminimum.of'parts and is.well adapted for the purposes frwhicli iti-is intended;

A.fnrth'er. Objectis to? provide amachine asf specid aJ:J`0vewl1'i ':h performs' atl a high .rai/e' of speedrandlis' .an excellent substitutefonmany' manr lioursofl'work.

With the. above and 'j other `obj ectsl inwiw 'the inventionfconsists ofthe novel constructionA of partsasmore fully, set forth hereinafter. It is to be understood;howeverr that the4 following" ist merely a description of a presentlyz'preferred'emibodiment, offmy invention and' that this' dise closure-,isL notto be interpreted `as limiting; lontl merely as descriptiveandthat modiflcationsan'd' alternatives of fconstruction .may 'be resortedto as fairlyl falliwithin the ,scope .of thepresenttinventin defined Aby v-tlie claims appendecllhere Y tor.

NW-'trningj'to theaccompanying-drawings:'

Figure 1""is" a1;perspectivefviewv 'of'rny'` envelpe;- loader; as;Y attached".4 to* my" previously described'v packaging, machine', a: portion; of? said i packagf ing machine, appearinggin the` right background? Figure 2. isy an end elevation'witlr parts1v broken' away, (taken substantially fon 4a; plane indicated' by, dashedline ,andV arrows' 2-5-2 on- Figure-1T Figure 4 is'a plan'viewof mymachinewitna r asuitable typeashined'sifnil'arly to an-fordir'iaryL4 The,y

'Ihe aforementioned parts 26, 21, 32, 35-38 are pivoted as a unit at 40 on bracket 4I. This assembly of parts is timely rocked by bar 42 about pivot 40. The pivotal movement of the assembly is not absolutely necessary, but is preferable as will now bedescribed- The entire assembly, including prongs 25, having been raised slightly to allow the envelope to slip freely over said prongs, is now lowered by bar 42 at which time lever arm 29 is actuated to slide block 21 rearwardly beneath mechanism 60 as seen in Figures 2 and 3. Block 35, tracks 36, stop 31 and arms 25 with the envelope are thus carried away from the observer in Figures 2 and 3.

Now turning to Figure 3 it is seen that the left edge of track 38 is cut away adjacent its distant end which allows 31, to b e slipped to the left from said track. j'jAlgso inFigures 3 and 4, element 56 is a tucking member adapted to fold the ends of the packets'54 inwardly in a manner more fully described in my copending application S. N. 652,132. Afterthe' ends of each packet 54 have been folded inwardly, arms 5I contact the packet 54 to slide said packet outwardly between spring arms 48, A

` predetermined plurality of packets, say two, for

example, are'forced between spring arms 48 in side-by-side relation, in nested relation or in a case where several packets are to be enveloped the packets may be both nested and side-by-side. Arms 5| area continuation of, or are mounted on, lever 52 which is Vpivoted at 53 and is preferably cam actuated as seen clearly in Figure 3.

While the selected number of packets is being properly received between fingers 48 the assembly 26,35, 36, 31, 21 is moved rearwardly in Figures 2 and 3 and thus prongs 25 along with the envelope are moved directly away from the observer. As the assembly reaches its rearmost position, i. e. a position in alignment with packets 54 as seen in Figures 4, guide 31 is no longer retained by track 38 since the inner edge of the latter is removed.

At this time the left end of lever 15, pivoted at 16 and carrying roller 11 at its right end as shown in Figure 3, engages guide 31 as the inverted cam 18 allows lever 15 to rotate counterclockwise due to its heavy left end.

Lever 15 is carried, along with the entire assembly 55, on a slide 88 moving on tracks 8| and actuated by rockably mounted lever 82, slotted at 83. As 89, 55, 15, 15 is moved to the left in Figure 3, Y31, 35, 26, 25 and the opened envelope are likewise carried to the left. The envelope surrounds the plurality of packets with arms 48 holding the packets and protruding into the envelope.

As 55 moves to the left, rigid arm 56 goes above the envelope while 51, pivoted at 53 and carrying rollers 59 and 68 projects below the envelope. Roller 59 is presently releasably locked in recess BI of lever E2, which is pivoted at 53. Lever 82 is spring urged counterclockwise by spring 64. As the entire assembly presently referred to approaches its extreme left position, lever 62 strikes stop 49 whereupon roller 59 is disengaged with recess 6I and spring 69 rotates lever 51 clockwise to grip the loaded envelope, Slide 88 and its associated parts now is returned to the right, the loaded envelope being held between iingers 56, 51 while 15 pulls 31, 35 back to its rightmost position, 15 then being disengaged as 11 strikes cam 18. (Lever 29 now returns 21, 35, 31, 26, 25 forward toward the observer to place 25 in position to receiveanother envelope from 20, 22.)

As fingers 56, 51 carry the loaded envelope rearwardly, roller 68 engages cam 10, rotates 51 counterclockwise, resets 59, 6| and releases the loaded envelope. Near the end of this stroke, just prior to the releasing of the envelope, said envelopes end slips into a guide retainer 85, seen in Figures 1 and 4, where it rests temporarily.

Now, looking at Figure 1 againnthere is seen a vertically floating framework which carries 9| reciprocably mounted on guide rods 92. Sliding bars 81 are supported by 9| and bars 81 carry upward projections 86 in pairs throughout their length. Framework 90 is raised and lowered in properly timed motion by mechanism 95, which is believed to be adequately shown in Figure 1 and requires no description here since the operation thereof will be obvious to anyone skilled in the art. Rod 93 reciprocates frame 9| bars 81 and projections 86. In operation, mechanism 95 lowers the entire presently described assembly while 93 reciprocates 9|, on bars 92, to the left in Figure 1. (Bar 93 is pivotally connected to arm 29 as seen in Figure 2.) The end set of projections 86 and the ends of bars 81 thus slip beneath the loaded envelope which is resting in retainer guide 85. Projections 86V rise in slots 88 of guide 85 just to the left of the end of the package. Rod 93 then reciprocates 9|, 81, 86 to the right, thus moving the envelope one space to the right. With each successive movement, the envelope is progressed one space to the right until it reaches the loaded envelope magazine |00. The envelope is slipped under the stack of envelopes while such stack is held in a raised position due to stepped up portions 91 adjacent the right ends of bars 81.

A short summary of the operation of my machine will now be given. Empty envelope magazine 4 is filled with envelopes 6 having flaps 1 protruding from an edge thereof. A jet of air from tube 8 partially opens the ap of lowermost envelope 6, whereupon bar 9 moves to the left (see Figure 2), beveled end ID pressing flap 1 fully open to the dotted line position. Mechanism 69 moves to the right until I6 strikes stop l5 releasing roller I8 from recess I9 and allowing spring 23 to lift arms 20 whereby flap 1 is clamped between 20 and 22. Mechanism 60 then moves to the left, carrying an envelope by its flap 1. As the envelope 1 approaches prongs 25, said arms 25 are raised slightly by rod 40 which indirectly supports the arms and a jet of air from tube 28 opens the envelope fully to allow the envelope to pass freely over 25. Lever I6 strikes stop 24 to re-set roller I8 in recess I9 and release flap 1 from arms 29, 22. With the envelope on prongs 25 it is to be understood that another envelope is being selected from magazine 4.

Lever arm 29 now moves block 21, tracks 36, sliding assembly 35, 31, block 26 and arms 25 with the envelope to the rear in Figures 2, 3. As the above mentioned parts recede to their limit, a break in track 38 allows guide 31 to become disengaged and lever 15 engages 31 to move sliding assembly 35, 31, along with arms 25 and the envelope, to the left. A plurality of packets has been forced between spring arms 48 by arms 5I. As 35, 26, 25 and the envelope move to the left the packets 54 along with arms 48 are enveloped.

At this time lever 62 strikes stop 49 to disengage roller 59 and recess 6I. Spring 69 urges 51 to clamping position with 56 to hold the loaded envelope. Slide 80 moves 56, 51, the loaded envelope, etc. to the right until the loaded envelope rests in retainer guide 85, whereupon roller 68 strikes cam 10 to release the envelope and reset 59, 6l. (Slide 80 also returns 15, 31, 35 back to its right hand position such that 29 can slide 21, and parts carried thereby, forward to receive another envelope.)

As seen in Figues 1 and 4 the floating sliding mechanism 86-93 moves to the left under the loaded envelope, raises, moves to the right carrying the envelope, lowers and again moves to the left under the next envelope. As each envelope is moved into magazine |00 from the bottom, the stack is held up by raised portions 91 on the right ends of bars 81 until the new envelope is in place. Bars 81 then lower through the slotted bottom of magazine |00 and return to the left to be raised again as 81, 86 pick up another envelope along the way.

It is to be understood that this invention is not limited to the precise machine and operation thereof herein disclosed, nor is the use thereof limited to use with a machine as described in my copending application. It will therefore be obvious to those skilled in this and similar arts that modications in construction, operation and use may be resorted to but such modifications are intended to be covered by this invention as claimed hereinafter.

I claim:

1. An envelope loader comprising a magazine for holding a stack of empty envelopes, a gear operated sliding bar cooperating with a device for o delivering a timed jet of air for individually opening the flaps of said envelopes, a transversely movable plurality of arms automatically operated to grasp a ilap and thus carry an envelope to a plurality of prongs, a second device for delivering a timed jet of air to aid gravity and said arms in placing said envelope on said plurality of prongs, said plurality of prongs being movable rearwardly and again transversely such that said envelope is positioned surrounding a set of spring arms; arms to move packets of materials between said set of spring arms such that said envelope surrounds said packets; a plurality of levers for clamping the now loaded envelope and moving said envelope transversely to a retainer guide and then releasing the loaded envelope; a plurality of bars carrying projections thereon, said bars being reciprocable and vertically floating, thus being movable to a position beneath said loaded envelope, being raisable and movable to a position laterally and vertically spaced from said rst mentioned position.

2. An envelope loader comprising a magazine for holding empty envelopes, a sliding bar cooperating with a device for delivering a jet of air for opening the iiap of the lowermost envelope, a plurality of movable arms automatically operable to grasp said flap and transport said envelope to a plurality of prongs, a second device for delivering a jet of air to aid said arms in mounting said envelope on said prongs, said prongs being movable to position said envelope surrounding a set of spring arms, arms to move packets of material between said set of spring arms such that said envelope surrounds said packets, an automatic clamping device for removing the now loaded envelope from said spring arms and moving said loaded envelope to a retainer guide where said envelope is automatically released, and a mechanism for removing said loaded envelope from said retainer guide and placing said loaded envelope in a magazine from its bottom end.

3. An envelope loader comprising a magazine for empty envelopes, a sliding bar and a device for delivering a jet of air for opening a iiap of an envelope in said magazine, an automatically operated transporting device for moving said envelope to a plurality of prongs, means for moving said prongs to place said envelope around a plurality of articles to be packaged, means for holding said articles While the envelope is placed thereover, an automatic clamping device for transporting the now loaded envelope to a retainer guide and automatically releasing the envelope, and a mechanism for removing said envelope from said retainer guide and automatically stacking a succession of such loaded envelopes in a magazine.

ll. An envelope loader for placing envelopes about articles to be packaged comprising a magazine for receiving empty envelopes, a bar arranged to reciprocate adjacent said magazine, a device for delivering an intermittent jet of air positioned adjacent said magazine, means including said air jet device to partially open the envelope flap, further means to cause full opening of said flap including said bar operable after the partial opening of the envelope iiap by said first means, a transporting dev-ice arranged to grasp said open flap and to transport said envelope to a position surrounding articles, means for maintaining said articles stationary as said envelope is moved thereabout, and means to transport said envelope containing articles to an envelope receiving magazine.

5. An envelope loader as described in claim 4 wherein said last mentioned means comprises a reciprocating grasping means for grasping the loaded envelope and moving same to a retainer guide, means for operating said reciprocating grasping means, a vertically oating reciprocating bar arrangement and means for operating same in cycles to remove the envelope from the retainer guide and to move same step-by-step to a position adjacent a loaded envelope magazine and to place said envelope in said loaded envelope magazine.

6. An envelope selecting mechanism comprising a magazine to receive empty envelopes, a device for delivering a jet of air arranged adjacent said envelope magazine to direct intermittent blasts of air against the closed flap of an envelope in said magazine to bring such flap to a partially opened condition, futher means to cause full opening of said iiap including a bar reciprocating adjacent said magazine after partial opening of the envelope flap by said jet of air such that said partially opened flap is moved to a completely opened condition by said bar so that said envelope may be removed from the envelope magazine by a grasping of said completely opened flap and a grasping mechanism for grasping said flap to remove said envelope from said magazine.

RALPH H. PENLEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,454,008 Woolridge May 1, 1923 1,633,350 Russ June 21, 1927 1,830,889 Sague Nov. 10, 1931 1,908,823 Daniell May 16, 1933 2,318,073 Herbert May 4, 1943 

